Missed the health care deadline? In some cases, you can still enroll

Applicants who meet criteria will get extra time to sign up

Although Monday's deadline to sign up for health coverage has passed, it's not too late to enroll in insurance.

Millions of Americans who failed to sign up during the Affordable Care Act's six-month open-enrollment period have a second chance to sign up for subsidized insurance this year.

Here's a look at how consumers who remain without insurance can sign up in the days ahead.

If you already started an application or were unable to log on to HealthCare.gov to complete your application, you can still sign up for a limited time.

The Obama administration, expecting a surge of last-minute customers, said last week that people who couldn't enroll by the Monday deadline because of problems with the federal website would get additional time.

The special grace period was crafted for those who said they tried to sign up for health care but were unable to complete the process by Monday because of website outages, overwhelmed phone lines, missing information on applications and other problems.

People who started an application on HealthCare.gov should log back on and finish it as soon as possible. Those who applied online will have through April 15 to complete their applications.

Consumers who completed eligibility determinations on HealthCare.gov on Tuesday were told they must complete enrollment by April 15 or forgo insurance until 2015.

Get Covered Illinois, the state's enrollment effort, urges consumers to select a plan by April 15 and pay the first month's premium by their insurance company's deadline.

Federal officials said the government will accept paper applications until April 7.

Most people who complete enrollment in the grace period will get coverage effective May 1 and won't owe a tax penalty.

If you had a unique circumstance that prevented you from signing up, you may be eligible for a special extension.

People with a variety of issues — including those affected by a natural disaster, serious illness or application errors committed by application counselors or insurance companies — can apply for a "special enrollment period."

This category also includes Illinoisans waiting for an eligibility determination from the state's Medicaid program, which had a backlog of some 200,000 applications as recently as two weeks ago.

Those denied Medicaid coverage for too much income or other reasons will be able to buy a plan on the marketplace through a 60-day "special enrollment period" that starts from the date their Medicaid application is denied. They will not be penalized for enrolling after the deadline.

To apply for a special enrollment period, contact the federal call center at 800-318-2596 or the Get Covered Illinois call center at 866-311-1119 and explain your situation.

Throughout the year, if you lose your job, marry, divorce, have a baby, move to another state or experience another "qualifying life event," you can still apply.

People who experience certain life events will have a 60-day window to sign up for private insurance. Note: Special circumstances do not include the diagnosis of a chronic illness or a major accident requiring hospitalization.

What if you missed the open-enrollment deadline and made no "good faith effort" to sign up before March 31?

Consumers who did not try to sign up in a private insurance plan by the deadline are out of luck. Insurers in Illinois opted not to sell health policies after the end of open enrollment, except to consumers who qualify for the special enrollment period and can attest they were thwarted in their sign-up efforts, state officials said.

Some also will offer various short-term policies, but those plans don't meet federal guidelines, and coverage can be denied based on pre-existing health conditions.

Those consumers will not be able to sign up for new coverage until Nov. 15, when open enrollment for 2015 plans will begin. They also will be subject to a tax penalty that starts at $95 per adult or 1 percent of annual adjusted household income, whichever is greater. Those fines will be levied on 2014 tax returns.